ABOUT FARMER GENE - MATTHEY FARM

Private Property

Entry via appointments only

Selling racehorse quality LUCERNE Hay

Matthey Farm is located just out of Bannockburn VIC and l take pride in what l do. Farmer Gene is a perfectionist when it comes to the hay season, everything is done at the right times to produce delicious quality hay. the only thing he cannot control is the weather.

Selling horse quality LUCERNE, OATEN & GRASS HAY - PEA & BARLEY STRAW small square bales to the public - prefer pick up or can be delivered for a fee.

LUCERNE - PRICING - CUT

For all the non-farmers to get an understanding of lucerne, the prices and cuts.

Currently l have seven different paddocks with lucerne which has been sown at different times. The lucerne plant last around 10 years. Five paddocks have irrigation. If l don't get enough rain at the right times, l will lose two paddocks. So when the lucerne is ready, it is mowed. The next couple of evenings/ nights (when the moisture content is perfect) it is raked over for the curing process. Then baled mainly during the nights. this process can take a week or longer depending on the weather. Bales then gets picked up by hand, packed into lots of 14 small square bales or picked up with the tractor and then stored into the shed.

The first cut is from one paddock at the start of the season, mowed, cured and baled. When the lucerne grows again in the same paddock, mowed, cured and baled - it's the 2nd cut and so on. So when advertising 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc cuts - it will not always be the same price and from different paddocks.

Prices are determined from the quality of the lucerne and the availability of it (supply and demand) like the prices of fruit & vegetables. So when you are buying directly from a farmer;

1. You are supporting a family who doesn't get paid much

2. Who is lucky to get a couple of days off per year

3. Most of the work they conduct from 7 days a week anytime of the day and night with no penalty rates, is voluntary

4. Are gamblers praying for rain most years for water on crops. No rain, no income

And what we would do if there were no farmers?

Support your local farmer as they dedicate their lives for you.

l hope your animals enjoy my hay!

Cheers, Farmer Gene

Hay Producer since 2013

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